Tatsumaki and Rendor waved at them from their place on a charred mountaintop. The small island inlet was dotted with active volcanoes, pools of lava and blackened plant life all over. Bright Bolt landed gently and leaned his muzzle back to get a rewarding scratch under his chin from Mitsumi. When Saitama jumped off his back and helped Mitsumi down, he said, "That was awesome! I like flying, but riding and flying?! Absolutely awesome! Maybe you should be my pet…"
"Mitsumi woke me up. I'm her pet. Just like Blue Ripple," Bright Bolt snorted and pressed his muzzle into her arms.
"I'm right here…" Blue Ripple grumbled from where he was clinging to her.
"Make room!" Bright Bolt snickered.
"So…you admit to being her pet?" Saitama grinned.
"Yeah. I figured…it works," Bright Bolt said and gazed out over the fiery landscape. "In truth, I can go no farther here. It's like…instinctive territory lines."
"True," Blue Ripple sighed.
"Ah! Look! Lava Lilies!" Mitsumi said at where the beautiful, fiery red lilies were growing. When Bright Bolt leaned down to eat one, she pouted softly.
"Sorry. They're really delicious!" Bright Bolt chuckled. "It was mainly why I come around here at times."
"Those are supposed to be rare to find," Saitama said.
"I know. Why do you think they're rare?" the lightning monster snickered.
"It was said they have a lot of helpful healing qualities. They even helped cure Kianna from being a monster," Mitsumi smiled.
"Really?! Hmm. Okay, I'll leave a lot more of them alone," Bright Bolt nodded. Overgrown Rover growled and looked to the southern area from where they were. When they saw Inichi and Wind Crane coming over from that direction, Saitama was quick to mentally reach out. :Go around a different way! My dog is alert! Something's wrong!:
Inichi just got the message before making a mass shielding to block the giant worm-like monster of smoldering lava rock that suddenly struck out from the lake of lava they were flying over. The gaping, fanged mouth was slapped shut by Zenchu's clawed slap, and Garou was quick to jump off Wind Crane's back to slam it back into the lava.
"Garou!" Lily shrieked.
"He's a monster. Remember that. He'll be fine," Bane said to calm her down. True to his words, Garou was now wearing a form of armored shielding of thick, rock-like scales and flying back up on his bat-like wings to help escort them. Bomb was quick to hold Lily back from accidentally jumping off to reach him. Garou was quick to fly close to talk to her.
"Lily. I'm fine," Garou said calmly. "I can shift my shape. Don't worry."
"Oh. Okay…" she trembled. At the look of loving protection he gave her now, she could only sigh with relief and give the same look back.
"Was that who we needed to talk to?" Mitsumi asked Bright Bolt.
"Nope. That's just a monster that attacks at random," he said. "I think I even heard her saying it was a pain to deal with at times."
"I got it," Tatsumaki said when she pulled the giant worm from the lava lake with a greenish glow around it. Now she proceeded to tie it up into a knot on itself to effectively kill it and drop it back into the lava. All those that saw what she did were in a state of silent shock.
"It pissed her off…" Rendor seemed to swallow.
"It attacked my new friends. And your family," she sniffed. "Besides, if it did that all the time, then enough was enough. Right?"
"Yeah…" Rendor nodded and let her snuggle into him. They watched the others land and carefully make room to stand. Inichi even helped by raising up the mountain rock to make a sturdy platform. Fubuki was quick to cool the area with a sharp wind. Wind Crane helped even further and clucked softly.
"This place reminds me of a game I played…" King said.
"Oh? Tell me about it!" Kianna chuckled and moved to sit down with him.
"Those who can't go with us should stay here. It shouldn't take too long. Hopefully," Saitama said and kissed Mitsumi's forehead.
"So, you can't travel further?" Mitsumi frowned at Bright Bolt.
"I could…I just…instinctive knowing. It makes me hesitate," he admitted.
"Shrink small for her to carry you," Saitama suggested. "You okay, Blue Ripple? Or do we need to carry your tub?"
"My tub," Blue Ripple nodded. "And don't worry about my water boiling me alive. I'm immune to that as long as I'm in the water."
"Right. From the heat here," Saitama nodded back. "So, how do we find the monster we need to talk to?"
"Usually we can find her soaring around on patrol. I saw her a few days ago, but I don't know where she is now. Technically, no one needs to go anywhere. She can come to us," Bright Bolt snorted. "I could lure her here. I know how to do it. I just can't let her catch me."
"Zenchu, guard Mitsumi. Doggy, you stay with her, too," Saitama said and gave the tiny monster dog to Mitsumi to hold. "I'm going riding. We'll be right back. Oh, Tacki, is it easy to replace my clothes? In case I fall in lava, that is."
"I don't know if the feathers are fireproof. Maybe you should undress?" Tacki frowned. "I do have a spare bag of fabric, but nothing that's fireproof."
"My scales may actually help here. Have one of my fan sets go with you," Blue Ripple said. "Or I grow large and have the scales harvested."
"I'd have to pinch holes in them. I don't know how it would work. And I'd rather have the fans here to protect Mitsumi. Eh…screw it. If I come back naked, then fine. Have spare briefs ready for me," Saitama said and undressed down to his underwear to protect the specialized clothing. Tacki took the clothing to fold up and inspect to ensure everything was undamaged. "Garou, you can also fly. And shift your shape to do things. Wanna…help me out?"
"How would I help?" Garou asked and let Lily lean into him. He had given her his promise ring now to keep it safe from the intense heat. He was still in his shifted form, and Lily was given his clothes to hold on to. Tacki was already planning to repair them from the heat of the lava. Kamikaze was actually impressed with the lava landscape. He was now discussing with Bane and Bomb about a possible training ground to look like it.
"Fly around at a distance. If you see something in another direction, alert me. As in, reveal yourself. Somehow. Or tell Inichi so he can tell me," Saitama nodded. Garou smirked and jumped into the air to fly off and wait.
"Master Saitama?" Genos frowned.
"Protect them with the others here. Zenchu can move in shadows, so he may be able to keep watch over the ground. But, if lava pools around and kills off the shadow…he may be stuck. So, Zenchu, if you think you can follow, do it. Inichi, keep your mind open. Any of you that can do this, do it," Saitama said. He pulled Mitsumi close to press a long, passionate kiss on her mouth.
"I love you," she smiled.
"I love you," he muttered back and kissed her again.
"Heh. Go east," Blue Ripple said. "I found her."
"Already?" Mitsumi smiled.
"Yes. My range is wide. She is fifteen miles east of us," Blue Ripple said.
"Much wider range than myself," Inichi sighed. Fubuki smiled softly with understanding, and she pat the top of his head when he hovered close to her.
"She is ignoring me, though. You will need to bring her here. Go now. We can wait and protect the others," Blue Ripple said and pressed his muzzle into Mitsumi's legs for a rewarding cuddle. Saitama jumped onto Bright Bolt's back, and they both leapt off to travel on an electrical road.
"Can't you teleport?" Saitama asked.
"I could. But it's through lightning. We are scouting and luring. Not fleeing. Just hang on!" Bright Bolt whinnied sharply and kicked out to move faster. Garou was flying alongside them and keeping up easily. As much as Saitama began to worry about Mitsumi, he reminded himself that his dog was with her. That calmed him down quickly to refocus on finding the elusive fire monster. He glanced up and pointed at the sight of a comet-like streak searing through the clouds. Bright Bolt neighed sharply and turned to follow it.
"That's the one?!" Saitama asked over the wind.
"Yes! That's her!" Bright Bolt confirmed and started to build up the static charge around them. Flashes of lightning surged from the newly made storm clouds, and the fiery figure screamed with detesting spite at the disturbance. Garou watched the figure disappear into the clouds before suddenly appearing to dive-bomb them from above.
"She's chasing you!" Garou shouted at them.
"Good! Fly back!" Saitama said to get Garou out of the way for safety. When the fiery figure got closer, the form of a scarlet red serpent with taloned claws and feathered wings with colors of a raging fire was just made out from the smoking haze from the clouds. Her eyes were far more slanted in a feminine way, and they were glowing a bright, fiery red with her anger. When the monster got closer, Saitama said, "I want her to grab me! Or I grab her!"
"What?!" Bright Bolt snorted with shock.
"Trust me!" he said. He waited for the monster to get even closer before he got up to stand on Bright Bolt's back. He timed his jump to leap perfectly to meet the fiery monster head on. This shocked the chasing monster. Even more was when Saitama landed on her head, climbed onto the back of her neck and locked his legs down to anchor himself. "Now! We need to talk! Either hear me out, or I'll be an annoying pain in your ass!"
"BURN!" she snarled out and burst into flames.
"Sorry. Not gonna work on me," Saitama chuckled. "I bathe in lava."
"What…?!" the monster hissed with disbelief.
"Damn. You killed my boxers. Eh…hopefully Tacki has a replacement set made," Saitama sighed. "Anyways, we came here to talk to you. Not to fight. I really don't want to kill you. Blue Ripple tried to talk to you. You ignored him. You won't ignore me."
"DIE!" she seethed and dove into the lava. When she came back up, she found herself pausing with shock that Saitama was still alive and clinging to her.
"I told you," he said with a bored eye roll and flicked off a bit of clinging lava rock from his shoulder. "I bathed in lava before. Try again. You're starting to get boring. Actually, you know what? I'm done. I miss my wife. You're useless. It's only obvious you don't want to listen. So, fine. Go away."
"What?" she asked when he let himself fall from her neck to land in the lava. Now she hovered over his swimming form. She was even further shocked that he emerged unharmed and began to swim for shore. "I am not useless!"
"Sorry. I'm swimming. I can't talk right now," he said. He found himself plucked up to be held in a large taloned, four-fingered hand to be regarded in full. Her tail was curled up to reveal the lethal spike on the end, but she wasn't ready to use it just yet.
"You have my attention. Why are you here?" she asked.
"I dunno if I wanna tell you. I don't wanna talk to you anymore. You want to know why I'm here? Why my wife, friends and family came here to find you? They can tell you. I'm done trying to talk to you. Just put me down so I can go back to my wife. I'm sure she's worried about me. And if she gets sad, I get ultra pissed. To a point that I will clear out this lake of lava to get to her," he warned.
"Talk to me!" she demanded.
"No. I'm going to my wife," he said and made to jump out of her clawed grip. She hissed and grabbed on harder before finding him prying her talons apart. At her keen of surprise, he sighed. "Fine. Take me to her. She'll talk to you. She's not far off with the others."
"I should keep you! You are…different," she found herself crooning.
"Nope. My wife is the only one I love. She's been through hell. You simply are hell. I don't want that. Besides, Wind Crane may be here soon with her. I know you're a GOD monster. It's why we came to find you. Bright Bolt, Blue Ripple and Wind Crane are also GOD monsters. Want to know why we're here? Take me to them and talk to them. Final warning before I slap you," he said and crossed his arms over his chest with his usual blank stare.
"Saitama!" Mitsumi said on flying over with her crane fans out. Blue Ripple's fans were swirling around her and keeping the air cooled. Overgrown Rover was on her back to show it refused to stay behind. He turned quickly to look at her and showed instant concern.
"Mitsumi?! I told you to stay behind!" he said.
"I missed you," she frowned. Saitama was now able to fully pry himself free and jump over to her to let the crane fans hover them both together. He kissed her and let her hug him with relief. Once he was sure she was safe with him, she handed him a spare set of boxers to put on. "Tacki figured you'd need these."
"Thanks! Yeah, mine got destroyed when that monster burst into flame," he sighed and quickly put them on. Overgrown Rover whined and moved to snuggle into them both after they got into a sitting position. It blinked all six eyes at the hovering fire monster. Then it snorted and grunted at her.
"What do you mean?" she blinked her fiery, glowing red eyes. Overgrown Rover licked Saitama's cheek and then Mitsumi's cheek before looking back at the other monster to huff. It rumbled and whined softly before the fire monster rumbled back. Now Overgrown Rover growled and grabbed Saitama's hand with its mouth to put over Mitsumi's belly. Then it pressed against his hand before snarling at the fire monster with protection.
"I have no idea what's being said, but I have an idea," Saitama said and kept Mitsumi in his lap. "I don't like it."
"Oh?" Mitsumi frowned. She watched the fire monster rear back as though ready to attack. Then she paused at the crane fan set that swirled around her muzzle to perfume the air before retreating. The fire monster appeared to be stunned as something broke free. She blinked her eyes and found herself more curious than enraged now.
"What is that scent? It's so…intricate…" she mused and now leaned herself over to study Mitsumi. "That came from you?"
"From my fans," Mitsumi smiled and let them reveal themselves to her to expose the flower image. "Do you feel better now? I hope you do."
"If I feel…better…ah…" she blinked and seemed to tremble. "Why do you ask such a question? I mean…I no longer feel so much anger! I…oh, dear. I almost attacked you!"
"Many almost do," Mitsumi shrugged. "I almost died after I was born."
"What's this?!" she asked and flicked a forked tongue.
"What's your name first? What can we call you?" Saitama asked.
"A name for me? Hmm. I don't have a name," she said softly.
"Can I name you?" Mitsumi smiled. At a tilt of the fire monster's snake-like head with amusement, it was clearly consent. "Hmm. I think, long ago, I read a book about a woman of fire. Ah! Kalama! What do you think?"
"We should stick to something that stands out with fire. I mean, Blue Ripple is based on shimmering water, right? Bright Bolt is lighting. Wind Crane is…obvious. I mean…" Saitama frowned.
"Well, the flowers around here are called Lava Lilies," Mitsumi said. "But you are like a streak of fire when you fly, right?"
"Call me Fire Flight," the fiery monster chuckled.
"So pretty! Yes!" Mitsumi gasped with delight.
"Now, as you have helped me find clarity in my thoughts, how can I assist you? It is the least I can do," she said and moved her muzzle close. She blinked when Mitsumi reached out to gently pat her scaled nose. "Ah! None have ever done that! I think…I like it…"
"Yeah. Other than Wind Crane, the other two with us became her pets. We weren't sure if you'd do the same," Saitama shrugged.
"A pet? I mean…how would that work?" she asked.
"Come back with us. You can talk to the others. Okay?" Saitama said and gestured for her to follow. She nodded and finally followed them back to where the others were waiting.
"I guess you needed the boxers?" Tacki grinned and handed Saitama his Wind Crane Clan costume.
"Yeah. I told her I swam in lava. She didn't believe me," Saitama shrugged and let the fans cover him and Mitsumi to dress back up. When he was revealed again, he saw Blue Ripple and Bright Bolt heavily conversing with Fire Flight. Wind Crane moved to stand behind Mitsumi and Saitama protectively to stand guard over them both.
"I can add more insight with visions. Should you need it," Inichi offered Fire Flight. She nodded and went still to receive all the visions to bring her fully up to speed. Garou was able to change back to human and dress while this was being done. Lily put his promise ring back on him and got kissed right after.
"You scared me to death when you jumped," she frowned.
"I know. My only thought was to protect you, though," Garou sighed. "I'm pretty hard to kill. But I know why you freaked out. I'll…make sure to warn in advance. The only problem is that, well, with monsters like that…"
"I know. You can't really hesitate," she nodded. "It just shocked me."
"Yeah. I can't hesitate. I will never hesitate when it comes to ensuring your safety. Just like Saitama with Lady Mitsumi. He steps in the path of anything that tries to hurt her now. Even when I insulted her…he was right there to slap the shit out of me. He didn't even blink at the thought of what to do. That's my mindset with you now," Garou smiled and got hugged tight by her.
"Mitsumi…" Fire Flight said on losing the ethereal tone to her voice.
"Yes, Fire Flight?" Mitsumi smiled. She watched the massive fire monster shrink small and fly over to gently curl around her neck. She was shivering now, and she whined softly at the feel of Mitsumi's hands giving a comforting rub along her back. After another few minutes of it, Fire Flight gave out a heavy sigh.
"I agree to being your pet. Also, would you object to a ring of lava fire along the outside of your domain?" Fire Flight asked with a bit of amusement.
"I would think that would be the coolest thing ever!" Saitama grinned.
"I need to see how much more can be purchased, though. Would it be easy to move around?" Mitsumi asked and gently rubbed under Fire Flight's chin.
"I can see when you are ready. Oh. There is another here that will be a problem. If I leave here, it will lay claim to my lands," Fire Flight growled.
"The worm thing? It's dead," Tatsumaki said with a wave of boredom. "I turned it into a pretzel."
"Oh?" Fire Flight seemed to ask with surprised amusement. Tatsumaki was quick to focus and bring the dead worm back up to show her. "Good! Hmm. Can you harvest the teeth from that? Those teeth will help us later."
"I can pull them," Saitama nodded. The giant worm's mouth was brought over, and both Zenchu and Garou pried the mouth apart. While Saitama started to yank out the massive teeth, Tacki found herself examining one of them.
"Those teeth will make any immune to fire if used properly in armor," Fire Flight chuckled. Tacki gasped and looked at Inichi.
"The moment we get home we will go over your new blacksmith building," Inichi nodded. "Metal Knight has also been rebuilding something that can help."
"Awesome! But, now I have a question. Do the teeth bits have to be over clothes? Or under them?" Tacki asked Fire Flight.
"That I don't know. You'll need to test that theory," she said.
"Another question," Mitsumi smiled and beamed at the snuggle she got in return. "The flowers here. We call them Lava Lilies. I told you earlier, but they are extremely helpful and they heal quite a bit! We were hoping to grow our own. Do you know how it works?"
"I do, actually. You gathered some?" Fire Flight asked.
"We do have some back at home," Zenchu nodded.
"Show me when we get there. Also, I know you wish to make fans from my teeth. I will help. Bright Bolt will need to do the same. I…know this is important. For the first time in a thousand years…since I came about…I feel…needed. It's nice to have this sensation," she admitted.
"You're almost as old as Blue Ripple?" Zenchu blinked.
"Yes. But the one for earth? We are but babes on his knee. I am unsure how old he is. But I know he is aware of how we come about here, too. He once told me, when I paid attention to him, that is, that when one of us dies off, another comes forth. Either from unknown eras or places. A balance of power must always be obtained. It's why he rarely comes forth. He is the oldest one of us," Fire Flight said softly. "The secrets he stores! Maybe now he can share some of them. Hopefully."
"That would be something!" Blue Ripple said.
"And why are you in water? You can always walk," Fire Flight mused.
"My choice…" Blue Ripple growled.
"He can walk?!" Garou asked.
"Enough," Mitsumi said with a small warning.
"Well, to be fair, Fire Flight has a human form, too," Bright Bolt said.
"I will embrace you in fire!" she hissed.
"Dear ones, stop," Mitsumi said in a soothing voice to calm them all down. "As it stands, we need to get home. We need to prepare for tonight to bring another to us. It was also suggested that another for plants may be needed. We have some planning to do."
"Yes," Fire Flight nodded and continued to snuggle into her. Then she looked at Saitama and said, "I'm…sorry. For what I did before."
"Eh…" Saitama shrugged and yanked out another massive tooth. "I'm used to it. You woke up now. You see I only spoke the truth on wanting to talk."
"We need a specialized chair to hold all of you while Saitama sits with me," Mitsumi beamed. Blue Ripple rumbled with a touch of eager agreement.
"We'll work on that at home. Okay. Last tooth," Saitama said and tossed the spike-like tooth into the pile of the other fifty he pulled.
"You need the others in the front," Fire Flight said.
"What?! Those are like…tusks!" Saitama said at the sheer size of the four front teeth. "For all that, we may as well cut them out! They are three times longer than me! And like…ugh…I can't grab those!"
"Hey, brother…" Zenchu grinned and revealed his claws.
"Oh! Dental work!" Garou grinned back and leapt onto the task.
"How will all this get back?" Bomb asked and moved to help sort through the various teeth with King, Kianna and Bane. Kamiko and Genos were marking where the teeth could be cut apart with Tacki. Kamikaze was now curious on making a blade out of one of them.
"I'll handle that," Tatsumaki nodded. At the sight of the massive worm now, Mitsumi found herself lost in thought.
"I wonder if we can take some of that back for Shenjou to eat," Mitsumi mused. Saitama looked at her and found himself blinking at the thought.
"You have a monster eater?" Fire Flight asked.
"Yes. He's a massive snake monster, too. His venom melts everything. But Saitama is immune," Mitsumi chuckled.
"Hmm…" Fire Flight found herself highly curious now.
"He's single," Mitsumi said with a small smile.
"Even better…" the fire monster mused. She turned her head and saw the last massive tusk fall out of the dead worm's mouth.
"Zenchu, please cut some of that up for Shenjou to enjoy?" Mitsumi asked.
"Ah! I can do that," Zenchu grinned and got to work. "A bit tough…from all this rock on it, though…"
"The rest of you may want to back away. Little sister, can you focus on it?" Fire Flight asked Wind Crane. She warbled when the way was clear and stretched out her wings. A windstorm now swirled around the dead monster. Fire Flight focused to transform the wind into a fiery tornado. One could barely see fiery feathers merging together to slice and sever away chunks of the monster easily.
"Babe! Holy shit!" Zenchu gaped at the sight of it.
"Ah…" Bomb's jaw was dropped at the massive attack of wind and fire.
"Okay. That's pretty cool," Saitama grinned.
"Hmm…" Blue Ripple mused and focused to dehydrate some of the chunks into a form of monster jerky. Bright Bolt only chuckled and rested his muzzle against Mitsumi's shoulder. He hadn't shrunk small yet, and he was content to simply stand and watch everything unfold.
"Is this enough?" Fire Flight asked at the massive mound of perfectly cubed monster meat. Tatsumaki levitated it all with Rendor at her side.
"I got this. Meet you back home?" Tatsumaki asked.
"Yes," Saitama nodded.
"I have the teeth and tusks. We may need some assistance getting the others back," Inichi said. Fire Flight removed herself from Mitsumi's neck to grow larger again to help with transport. She found herself pleased at the approving look Mitsumi gave her. Saitama gestured to Mitsumi to get on Bright Bolt's back with Overgrown Rover and Blue Ripple settled with them.
"We'll meet you all at home!" Saitama nodded and let Bright Bolt head off. Inichi nodded and assisted with gathering up the family, teeth and anything else that needed to be brought back. Tacki did collect a few more of the Lava Lilies that were growing around them, though, with extremely gentle uprooting. The precious plants were going to be needed and studied even more thoroughly, and she had some ideas to plant them with the rare, white flowers to see if anything could come out of it. Maybe a blended perfume! And I can't wait to see my new blacksmith building! So much to do now! Yay!